Coaches Call

Are you a new coach or a coach of a new team?  Do you have some students or parents new to FIRST Robotics Competition?

There will be an open FRC call on Wednesday, November 9th, at 7 PM Eastern.  We will talk about FIRST Choice and Awards Submissions and take your questions.

Register for the call here!


AnchorOpen!  Award Submissions: 

The 2023 FIRST® Impact Award, Dean’s List Award, and Woodie Flowers Award application portals opened today Thursday, November 3, at 12 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Woodie Flowers Award and the Dean’s List Award applications will close on Thursday, February 9, 2023. The FIRST Impact Award application will close on Thursday, February 16, 2023.

Please note:

  • For the FIRST Impact Award & Woodie Flowers Award, a student can only be assigned as an award submitter if their parent/guardian has signed the Consent & Release Form.
  • Lead mentors 1 and 2 are now able to submit for the FIRST Impact Award. While we are allowing this option, we still strongly encourage this submission to be made by students.
  • Students must have a signed 2023 FIRST Consent & Release form to be nominated and interviewed for the Dean’s List Award.

Find more information, including steps to designate an award submitter, on the Awards page and our Helpful Tips for Award Submissions page.  


AnchorAndyMark / FIN Video Challenge – Earn Money for your team!

Does your team have something to share with the rest of FIN?  Do you have an area of expertise that would help other teams?  Do you need some extra money to spend with AndyMark?  (Who Doesn’t!!!)

We are partnering with AndyMark for a training video challenge. Teams will create 5 minute videos on any topic that can help support new and existing teams.

Watch a short video explaining the competition – https://www.firstindianarobotics.org/video-contest/

November 11th – Video Submissions Due!!!
December 2nd – Videos Uploaded to FIN YouTube Channel
December 10th – Winners announced at FLL State Championship

All prizes are AndyMark credit.

1st Place – $1,000 (1)
2nd Place – $600 (2)
3rd Place – $400 (3)

Please READ the guidelines:

5 Minute Video Contest Guidelines

The Video Submission Form is here:
https://bit.ly/3ResQez

Email for submissions- videocontest@andymark.com


AnchorPayment Information for this Year

There is an update to payment policies with FIRST this year.  If you are expecting a grant from a company, another organization, FIN, etc. do NOT pay your balance with FIRST before receiving the grant.

The new language from FIRST is as follows:

If you are anticipating grant funding, please wait for funding to be available on your Team’s dashboard before completing your order.

FIRST will NOT swap payments.  Another word if you pay with a credit card, THEN a grant comes in FIRST will not apply the grant to what you already paid.  FIRST will be unable to refund the original payment method AFTER checkout.

With this in mind, FIRST will work with you on timing.  This won’t keep you from being secured.


AnchorOUTREACH – MAKE AN IMPACT

AnchorFIRST Day at the State House – Advocacy

Sign up to attend FIRST Robotics Day at the Indiana State House.  We will be at the statehouse on Wednesday, February FIRST, 2023.

Fill out the form here –https://forms.gle/37kabMnK4d7SBpKV9

This is an amazing outreach opportunity to help FIN secure grant funding for the growth of FIRST in Indiana.  We need teams from all levels of FIRST.  There will be training ahead of time, and teams will organize meetings with their legislators for that day.

Questions- Chris Osborne – cosborne@firstindianarobotics.org

AnchorFLL State Championship Demos – Cross Program Promotion!

The FIRST LEGO League Challenge State Championship is Saturday, December 10th, at the University of Indianapolis.

We will have a STEM day in Switzer Hall from 9 AM Eastern to 4 PM Eastern.  We are looking for teams to come and demo.  FRC and FTC.

We will also have an FLL Explore Festival.  Please contact Trisha Thompson – tthompson@firstindianarobotics.org

AnchorStarbase Indy – Inspire

(https://starbaseindy.org ) They would like to have some teams showcase their robots at this year’s convention — FRC, FTC, and even FLL.

WHAT WE ARE
Starbase Indy is a fan-run Star Trek convention held each year on Thanksgiving weekend. We are fans not only because we enjoy Star Trek, but also because it inspires us. From this inspiration comes the mission of our convention:
The mission of The Starbase is to provide inspirational content and activities relating to Star Trek, STEM, and humanitarianism to aid in creating a future that is inclusive and diverse. We host a yearly gathering place to connect creators and explorers t the community with fun and enriching experiences for all.

Starbase Indy brings in actors, creators, scientists, and space flight experts to interact with the community.

This year’s event runs Nov 25-27 at the Indianapolis Marriott East.  For more information, check out our website at www.starbaseindy.org.  You can use FIRST_SBI2022 to get $5 off a ticket for the entire weekend.  In addition, Sunday is open to the community at no charge.

Please email Starbase Indy with any questions.  Community Outreach: Mark Gaddo community@starbaseindy.org

AnchorA Kid Again – Bring Joy to Others!

A Kid Again is a children’s charity that provides cost-free and recurring events for children with life-threatening conditions.

On Sunday, December 11th, at the State Fairgrounds from 4-8 PM, they are having a Holiday Party.  This would be a terrific opportunity to do some robot demos, let kids drive robots, etc.

Please Contact Amy Przybylinski (FIRST ALUM! and Purdue Grad!) if your team is interested and can help bring some joy to these children and their families.

amyp@akidagain.org – 317-759-7025


AnchorFOR YOUR STUDENTS – PLEASE SHARE

AnchorScholarship Portal Opens – Find your seniors money for school!

The FIRST Scholarship portal opens on September 1st at Noon.  Please share with your students.

www.firstinspires.org/scholarships

Are your students on Tallo?  This is a FREE-to-use platform for students to create a resume that includes opportunities to earn badges (FIRST participation), search for scholarships, and connect with internship opportunities and universities.

Have your students start their profile today at www.tallo.com/first – this platform is open to any Indiana student for free, thanks to a grant from Ivy Tech.

Students can sign up as young as 13.  This is NOT a social media platform.  There is no cross-communication between students.  However, they can connect with universities, trade schools, employers, etc.

AnchorSolidworks Training – Get your team ready!

Take advantage of Solidworks Training!  Lessons include:

https://academic.goengineer.com/p/solidworks-101-academic11?coupon_code=GOENGINEER_FIRST_ROBOTICS

  • SOLIDWORKS Basics & the User Interface
  • Introduction to Sketching
  • Basic Part Modeling
  • Patterning
  • Revolved Features
  • Using Drawings
  • Bottom-Up Assembly Modeling
  • Using Assemblies

Check out the Flyer

The Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship Program is now open, and this life-changing opportunity will last a lifetime!  The Program awards 400 high school seniors who are planning to pursue an undergraduate degree in engineering or computer science with a $40,000 scholarship for college, plus a guaranteed paid internship at Amazon.  Applications are open until January 20, 2023. Learn how to apply.


AnchorWe have a blog! – Share with your students, parents, and community!

Blog Link

We have started to recreate these emails as blog posts.  If your team uses Slack, Discord, etc., you can create a channel that automatically will see updates to our blog by subscribing via RSS feed.

You will now be able to easily share our updates with your students, parents, administrators, and other mentors without them having to subscribe to our emails.

Here’s how:
Slack
Discord – Use an app like MonitoRSS

Our RSS Feed Link


AnchorSubscribe to the FRC Calendar on our FIN Google Calendar

Don’t miss any important deadlines!!

Do you need all the dates related to FRC events, award submissions, deadlines, etc. in one place?  Now you can have it!

SUBSCRIBE to the CalendarYour Content Goes Here